NME's production schedule (3.0 & 4.0?)

[I Accidentally Dracula]

As many of you know, I'm pretty new here. This may have been discussed in detail before, or it may not have been. I have no idea, but I've just been wondering...

With Newtype's scoop out in Japan this weekend the floodgates of inquiry on the 4 new Evangelion movies have apparently opened wide. While the Newtype information is new to general public, like most print magazines the material was most likely put together several weeks to a month in advance of publication. In that time new things with story have happened and Sankei Shimbun has interesting new information on the project already. First off they mention the original 3 Eva films made 4.5 billion Yen in total at the Japanese boxoffice. The manga published by Kadokawa Shoten has exceeded 15 million copies sold over the existing 10 volumes. Videos and DVD's sold exceed 4.5 million copies and about 30 billion Yen. Total goods sales exceeds 100 billion Yen. While the overall project is being called "Evangelion Shin Gekijou Ban" as mentioned in Newtype, the individual films are being titled "REBUILD OF EVANGELION". The First Volume, REBUILD OF EVANGELION:01 is due out in early summer 2007 it will have an estimated running time of 90 minutes. The Second Part, REBUILD OF EVANGELION:02 is expected in January 2008, also with a running time of 90 minutes. The Latter Part + Last Program of the series, REBUILD OF EVANGELION:03-04 are expected in early summer (possibly June) of 2008, they will have an estimated length of 45 minutes each. Additionally, ANS has learned the 3rd part (Latter Part) (which corresponds to the events of the movies and episodes 25 and 26 of the TV series) and the 4th "Last Program" will be mostly new stories and material. Parts 1-3 will use some key animation sequences from the original TV series, with new backgrounds (settings) and music. Shinji Higuchi is confirmed on the project and has already completed a new story board for the 1st film. A good deal of 3DCG animation will be implemented. The total economic effect of the 4 new Evangelion films is estimated at around 100 billion Yen or more. Director Hideaki Anno has chosen this point in time specifically to produce the new Eva, waiting until the hype of the previous works to cooled down.

What exactly happened here? Are we dealing with a series of natural delays, or did Khara-Gainax more or less completely start over with their plans after 1.0 was released?

[JimmyWolk]

Probably both. The schedule never seemed all that realistic, especially after 1.0 already saw a delay from "early summer" to September (which is hardly "early"). Add a lot of backtracking to redo things in 1.0 and who knows how many changes the rest of the movies saw from the original plans of maybe really just being supposed to be a flashy version of the old animation with minor differences to the original series, and we're pretty much were we are now.

[Desty_Nova]

I hope this drastically altered schedule means 3.0 and 4.0 will be full length features.

[Lagann]

I think they drasticlly altered what they had planned to do right after 1.0,hence the delay.I think an example of that is when they went back and put halos over all the angels it was because they originally planed to do just a animation remake but

SPOILER: Show

changing the zeruel scene where 01's halo becomes a third impact black hole required them to make the necessary changes to 1.0.

[The Eva Monkey]

Working in creative myself, I can say that schedules are a vague and amorphous concept that only really exist to kick you in the butt to work as hard as possible to get it done with as little time past the "deadline" as possible.

Deadlines are like rainbows and unicorns. They only exist in certain circumstances.

[JimmyWolk]

They only exist in certain circumstances.

Like when you only get paid/have to pay when you do/don't meet it. :P

[Evafan]

I think they drasticlly altered what they had planned to do right after 1.0,hence the delay.

That's what I think it is. I just hope they're more or less on the ball this time.

[Electric Sachiel]

I think they drasticlly altered what they had planned to do right after 1.0,hence the delay.

That's what I think it is. I just hope they're more or less on the ball this time.

I just hope we don't have to wait another three years for the next two to come out. Frankly granted it takes time to animate these things but do hope the wait won't be longer than 3 years.

[I Accidentally Dracula]

especially after 1.0 already saw a delay from "early summer" to September (which is hardly "early").

The first day of summer is in June. A 2-4 month delay is nothing in hindsight of a 2-4 year delay.

[Agentomega]

That is most certainly true. Look at Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. That was originally intended to come out on the Gamecube, while the Wii didn't even exist yet. Constant delays pushed it so far back that the Wii was out, and they ended up releasing on both, and even STILL the game wasn't quite as good as people were hoping.

[Reichu]

I just hope we don't have to wait another three years for the next two to come out. Frankly granted it takes time to animate these things but do hope the wait won't be longer than 3 years.

They'll find some way to drag out the release schedule to 2015, at which point the new ending in the fourth movie will trigger the apocalypse during its first theatrical run.

[Axell]

i always suspected that. otherwise they could use 2010 as its 15 years after the series. meh

[Sammaeloo]

Maybe he could use the hatemail in the mind tripping Instrumentality scenes like he did with EoE.

[i_Love_Asuka]

They'll find some way to drag out the release schedule to 2015, at which point the new ending in the fourth movie will trigger the apocalypse during its first theatrical run.

OMG, you know what that means!?
that i MUST pre-order the tickets for that show because their will be just one theatrical run EVER!!!
omg, when i imagine that i won't see RoE4 just because mankind has been wiped out... that would realy piss me of...

TO TOPIC:
it probably is Anno's fault...
i can imagine him popping into the studio with a whole new plot every week and he's realy pissing Gainax of with that...
^just speculation, but honestly, would it be surprising if it was so?

[Reichu]

that i MUST pre-order the tickets for that show because their will be just one theatrical run EVER!!!

It'll be kind of like that scene in Parasite Eve, only you're watching 4.0 instead of a singing mitochondrial mutant and you don't leave any bones behind.

i can imagine him popping into the studio with a whole new plot every week and he's realy pissing Gainax of with that...

Anno quit Gainax and started his own studio, Khara.

[Jinroh]

That is most certainly true. Look at Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. That was originally intended to come out on the Gamecube, while the Wii didn't even exist yet. Constant delays pushed it so far back that the Wii was out, and they ended up releasing on both, and even STILL the game wasn't quite as good as people were hoping.

No, the game was finished nearly one year before it was actually released. They delayed it to release it at the same time as the Wii, to sell more.

In Japan, Zelda on GameCube could only be ordered on Nintendo's website. You couldn't get it in the market.

It was just a lame strategy to sell more Wii, because it didn't have any interesting game except this gamecube zelda.

[Agentomega]

I just hope we don't have to wait another three years for the next two to come out. Frankly granted it takes time to animate these things but do hope the wait won't be longer than 3 years.

They'll find some way to drag out the release schedule to 2015, at which point the new ending in the fourth movie will trigger the apocalypse during its first theatrical run.

My god that would be -so- epic... Hopefully by then I'll have learned Japanese to watch the only theatrical release, so that way I can see (what would technically be 2I in this universe) in it's full (re-written) glory!

[BattleMonkey]

With how successful these films seem to be, I would think that they would want to try to extend this as much as possible and make 3 and 4 completely separate films.

[Reichu]

@Agentomega: This will necessitate a group trip to Japan. We'll be like an apocalyptic cult and all die together.

Tongue-in-cheek aside, I wouldn't be too astonished if we had to wait that long. Being sidetracked by revisionalism helps, but ultimately depends on whether or not parts 3 and 4 are still going to be back-and-back a la EoE, or whether they've been inflated into two entirely separate films. I'm honestly hoping that Anno has enough "lolwtf" insanity up his sleeves to fill two whole more movies with stuff we can't possibly anticipate.

SPOILER: Show

I think I'm feeling kind of masochistic after that initial wave of denial/shock in reaction to "the last half hour". After having my expectations bent so wildly, I want to see what lies even deeper in uncharted Eva territory. HURT ME MOOOOOORE!

[Agentomega]

@Agentomega: This will necessitate a group trip to Japan. We'll be like an apocalyptic cult and all die together.

Tongue-in-cheek aside, I wouldn't be too astonished if we had to wait that long. Being sidetracked by revisionalism helps, but ultimately depends on whether or not parts 3 and 4 are still going to be back-and-back a la EoE, or whether they've been inflated into two entirely separate films. I'm honestly hoping that Anno has enough "lolwtf" insanity up his sleeves to fill two whole movies with stuff we can't possibly anticipate.

SPOILER: Show

I think I'm feeling kind of masochistic after that initial wave of denial/shock in reaction to "the last half hour". After having my expectations bent so wildly, I want to see what lies even deeper in uncharted Eva territory. HURT ME MOOOOOORE!

XD Yes! We need more lolwtf.